“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
Thoughts and feelings are hard, if not impossible, to control. Actions, on the other hand, are almost completely under our control. Once again, my activity is at a high level.
I. Act Despite Negative Feelings
I credit that, in part, to what I learned from The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. I have often been waiting until I feel like it to do something. Now I know a mindfulness method through which I can diffuse negative thoughts and feelings, accept them, connect with my values, and go. This takes a lot less time than sitting around, waiting for negative emotions to go away.
Yesterday, was especially productive at 176 points. It may seem like an obvious thing to you to act before feeling like it. Truth be known, some pain and negative feelings do not go away, even after getting into an activity. However, merely moving will often relieve them.
II. Keep a Time Log
In addition to acting, I record my actions in a Time Recording Log. This way, I stay aware of how much time is elapsing in each activity. It also logs the effort I am expending in my projects.
III. Keep a Values to Action Log
It may seem like overkill, but I am also keeping a Values To Action table. Here is the table I kept for yesterday.
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VALUES TO ACTION
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Date: 5/31/20
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Value
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Action(s)
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Comments
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Beauty
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Consistency
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Creative Productivity
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Fasting
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Gratitude
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Health
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Mobility
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Nutrition
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Service
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Spirituality
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Sunlight
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Vibrancy
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Wisdom
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IV. Get Morning Sunlight
This morning, I went for a walk to the library and park. It was partly to get exercise and mostly to get sunlight. I am working at resetting my circadian rhythms, so my body will know it is day during the daytime and night at night. I still have the tendency to arise very early in the morning and become exhausted before the evening is over. I mentioned 5:14 AM in the Values to Action table above because yesterday, I slept in. I was less fatigued last night than I typically am too.
I would like to go to bed earlier, but my husband does not want to take his sleep meds before 10:00 PM or, he says, he will wake up too early in the morning. I wake up early anyway and figure that going to bed earlier will allow me to sleep longer. However, I have no proof of that. I am now getting some sunlight in my eyes in the morning to help convert melatonin to serotonin and reset my confused circadian clock. Bipolar disorder patients often have a messed up circadian clock. I seem to be no exception.
V. Act Despite Pain
This morning, I took two walks. The second one was past the library to my chiropractor. An advantageous thing about the ACT method is that it works for pain as well as “bad” feelings. My back has not healed as much as I hoped it would after a year of treatment with a chiropractor. If I wait until after my back pain is gone, I will never act. As I was walking to the chiropractor, I gradually accepted my pain, soothing it somewhat. The important thing is that I did not let my discomfort stop me from taking a walk in the first place.
VI. Plan What You Want To Accomplish
One exercise from The Happiness Trap is to make a list of all the things I could do if pain and “bad” feelings were not an obstacle. I made quite a list. Much of it is what I intend to do anyway. However, my progress so far has been starting, stopping, and starting, repeatedly, due to manic-depressive episodes. Now, I have greater hope that at least some of these accomplishments will become a reality. I hope I will no longer be stopped so much by depression, pain, and other “bad” feelings.
Are you plagued with “bad” feelings that derail your progress? Then you understand what I have been through, though you may not have bipolar I disorder. I recommend The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris.
At the risk of exposing myself and in the name of transparency, let me share the list:
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Whew! That is a huge list. I have already made progress on most of these activities, but I want to gain momentum as I have never had before. I am starting to get it, I think.
VII. Fast
I believe intermittent fasting is my key to weight loss. When I practiced it last fall (2019), the excess weight came sliding off. When I discontinued the practice, I regained the weight. I have decided to reinstate fasting into my life. However, it can be a bit challenging for mood and energy. I promised my readers I would find a way to lose weight without sacrificing mood and energy. I apologize for not finding an easy method. Still, this way can be made more accessible with mindfulness techniques. Fasting repeatedly makes it less taxing. Also, using ACT techniques from The Happiness Trap helps you get through the waves of urges to eat.
Virtually all diets can be derailed by eating after supper. Binges usually occur at this time. Eating after supper also causes leptin resistance. The hormone leptin, secreted by fat cells that communicates that you have had enough food, gets resisted by the brain’s hypothalamus. The body thinks it needs food even though there is plenty of fat on the body. Eating after supper can also mess up your circadian rhythms. One of the best ways to start improving your circadian rhythms is to stop eating at night.
Here are my recent fasts, each of which I gave a name:
Setting up a fast in Cronometer helps you to set an intention. It also gives you a graphic showing whether or not you are fasting and what fraction of it is already complete. Cronometer gives you the option of aborting your fast early. Normally, you do not want to do that.
VIII. Follow a Process
It is necessary to have and commit to a realistic process, as shown in this blog entry, to accomplish any significant goal. My depression derailed my processes for several aims, so it would be worthwhile to brush up. If my procedure is unrealistic, I can determine that too. Fortunately, I did not stop scoring JV Life Tracker, except the four days I was in the hospital.
I discovered a more practical way to enter email addresses into MailChimp than manually typing them, so that process can be streamlined. Today and yesterday, I completed my morning ritual, so that procedure has been revitalized. It is getting more automatic to go out every day for a walk, as mentioned in this blog entry. Of course, now is a nice time of year. When “bad” weather hits again, I will have to adapt my process.
My process would bloom with further development. I have a category in The Journal I have reserved for working on it.
Even though my bipolar I disorder derails me with its up and downs, I have built a life for myself that I can return to with even greater vigor than before.
VIII. Develop Close Friendships
Though I do not mention friends in my blog by name, Jacque is an exception. (She agreed to let me use her first name.) This friend called an hour or so ago after a camping trip with her family in Western Colorado. She had a fun time except for a fall, which blackened her right arm. I pray she will soon recover. I told her I was “doing good,” and she was glad to hear that. We had an uplifting visit on the phone.
Supportive friendships are incredibly important. Extroverted people may have the need to belong to a large group, but introverted people tend to prefer one or two close friends. Jacque has supported me spiritually as well as physically and emotionally. I knew no one else in this area when I first married my husband and moved to Colorado, except my husband and his son. Jacque was the first to befriend me. I do not know a better woman than she. Though I appreciate the wisdom of her 88 years of age, I realize she may not be with us long. For now, I savor my relationship with her. She seems to appreciate my friendship, as well.
IX. Ask For Help From The Lord
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EVENING PRAYER
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If you would like to join me on this journey from the beginning, please start with Day One. If you wish to download a FREE copy of my ebook (with no need to enter your name or email), click on the book below.
